Done with Pixel phones forever.

[dlalonde]

So in May I bought a used Pixel XL phone. It was like new and working perfectly. It had only been bought 6 months before.

A week and a half later, the device shut off to never turn back on.

I went to Google who originally wanted to get the order ID which I was unable to get. They decided to honor the warranty anyway.

I got a first refurbished replacement within 3 days and was amazed at how fast it was and how good the refurbished device looked. It was in perfect condition... physically. I plugged it in to charge it and, after reaching 14%, it stopped charging.

So I go through the return process again. This time though, there was a "bug" in the return process. The whole thing lasted in excess of 2 weeks until I suggested someone just create a new RMA (I don't know why no one didn't think of this at Google).

I eventually get another refurbished replacement. This time, it just doesn't charge at all...

Then I get another one but the headphone jack is defective and we can't hear any sound on the right side of any earphone or my aux in my car.

So again, I return the device and get another one. That device lasted about a month now. This morning, I go to see my notification but my phone is off. Again it's not charging.

I explain this to the customer service specialist who tells me he understands and manages to get the permission to send me a new device. I'm thrilled!! Then he asks me for the original order ID which I still don't have. He explains to me that without it I have to get another refurbished phone.

Now that wouldn't be a problem if their refurbished phones were reliable... which they're not. Either they botch their supposed tests to "meet strict quality standards" or Pixel phones are unreliable altogether. Whatever it is I want nthing to do with this anymore.

A company the size of Google with that kind of service is simply ludicrous.

I'm not even mentionning the insane amount of personal data that's in the phone that I just have to trust they'll delete... I don't even use Google Photos because I don't trust these services with pictures of my kids.

I'm also moving all my data to other services too. I'm not going to feed Google with my data if that's how they handle things.

So as soon as I get the replacement device I will turn it on and charge it to make sure it's OK, then I will sell it.

I'm really sad and disapointed. I loved the Pixel devices. They were otherwise great. But I'm not going to jump through hoops indefinitely to use one. I have a life, a job, a family. Worrying if my phone will die on me should not be a part of my life. I work in tech I know it's always a remote possibility. But this time, for me, it's no longer remote. Google isn't as trustworthy as I thought it was.

 

[methodman89]

To have the same charging issue across that time frame with multiple devices, there must be more going on.

 

[dlalonde]

To have the same charging issue across that time frame with multiple devices, there must be more going on.

Honestly I don't know what that could be but it's not on my part. It happened with multiple chargers, multiple cables, etc.

 

[methodman89]

Honestly I don't know what that could be but it's not on my part. It happened with multiple chargers, multiple cables, etc.

My quess, only conjecture, is based on your buying it used, your imei number has been hijacked (by a hacker or the former owner). Your battery issue could have been as basic as the culprit was using your processor in the same way that other hackers use hacked pcs to mine bitcoin. Did you ever use a new sim card, or was that the constant from each phone?

 

[dlalonde]

My quess, only conjecture, is based on your buying it used, your imei number has been hijacked (by a hacker or the former owner). Your battery issue could have been as basic as the culprit was using your processor in the same way that other hackers use hacked pcs to mine bitcoin. Did you ever use a new sim card, or was that the constant from each phone?

No always the same SIM.

But how could the hacker or former owner highjack 5 different devices just by having my original IMEI? He could have used my SIM card as a way to connect to my phone?

 

[methodman89]

No always the same SIM.

But how could the hacker or former owner highjack 5 different devices just by having my original IMEI? He could have used my SIM card as a way to connect to my phone?

Yes.

 

[Rukbat]

No. The only access to the SIM number is the carrier's database. (And, in the case of the eSIM, also in Google's database).

You can't connect to a SIM, the SIM doesn't face out on the internet, it only faces out on the wireless part of the POTS. Same SIM, different SIM for the same account - it only matters to the carrier or MVNO.

(If it were possible to hack into a phone by knowing just the SIM's number, the technology would be changed before the next update (and that's coming out this week). It's that huge a security hole.

I've had 2 phones replaced by Google, but since I keep my emails, I had the original order and had both replacements done with new phones (even though the second time was out of warranty - I just asked nicely). I suspect that they just had a bad batch of refurbs.

 

[methodman89]

The seller had the imei and the sim could have been gotten off the first phone, depending on the effort the seller made before he sent it to the op.
What other common denominator is there?

 

[dlalonde]

No. The only access to the SIM number is the carrier's database. (And, in the case of the eSIM, also in Google's database).

You can't connect to a SIM, the SIM doesn't face out on the internet, it only faces out on the wireless part of the POTS. Same SIM, different SIM for the same account - it only matters to the carrier or MVNO.

(If it were possible to hack into a phone by knowing just the SIM's number, the technology would be changed before the next update (and that's coming out this week). It's that huge a security hole.

I've had 2 phones replaced by Google, but since I keep my emails, I had the original order and had both replacements done with new phones (even though the second time was out of warranty - I just asked nicely). I suspect that they just had a bad batch of refurbs.

OK that's what I thought.

Yeah the person I bought it from told me (after the purchase of course) that he had exchanged it to someone who had just bought one and he couldn't reach him anymore. I was pretty mad but that's the risk of buying used phones. Had I known I would need the original order ID to get the warranty honored with a new device, I would have asked for it as a condition for the purchase. I thought the IMEI would suffice. Lesson learned!

The seller had the imei and the sim could have been gotten off the first phone, depending on the effort the seller made before he sent it to the op.
What other common denominator is there?

The SIM was mine though, not the sellers.

But as @Rukbat said I think they just had a bad batch of refurbished devices. They all come from the same place after all (from what I understand anyway). They seem to always use the same repair service center. Maybe I'm getting a bunch of refurbished phones from a batch of defective charging ports. I don't know.

What I do know though is that this next phone, I will charge it to 100% to make sure it works, check if everything is OK (earpiece, speaker and so on) and then sell it.

 

[dlalonde]

Now that my anger has passed I won't be moving away from Google services. They're just better.

But I'm still done with Pixel phones just because of how the warranty is handled and because of the lack of expandable storage. Sending my whole picture collection because I can't turn the phone on when I don't even use Google Photos because I want to be in control of my family pictures (I don't put them on Facebook either BTW) is really troublesome to me.

 

[Almeuit]

Weird. I had a Pixel 1 fail me and not boot anymore -- they replaced it no problem. Other then that no issues.

 

[dlalonde]

Weird. I had a Pixel 1 fail me and not boot anymore -- they replaced it no problem. Other then that no issues.

That's what I was expecting too. It is pretty weird. I think it's a faulty batch or maybe the company in Canada that does the replacements weren't as thorough as they should have been. For the last ones I got, the small box containing the device was already opened inside the bigger box and the wrapping of the last device I got the was just ridiculous like they'd just put a piece of sticky plastic on the screen and sent it out. I don't know if that means anything (and I wasn't going to complain given the devices seemed in perfect condition) but if that's any indication that they're not as thorough as they should be, maybe that explains the rest. I don't know really I'm just thinking out loud.

 

[J Dubbs]

Refurbished phones are a joke no matter what company you get them from. Do some research you'll see. I always buy new and look for good sales on last year's flagships. You can get some killer deals from very reputable companies if you look around. B&H photo and video is one.

The whole refurbished thing is a joke. All most companies do is pick the nicest looking returns, make sure they turn on, and ship them out. Why do you think they're returns? Because most of them had some issue so the customer sent them back.

These companies don't want to spend the time or resources taking apart sealed phones to repair/replace anything...... it's more cost effective to just keep sending out the stock of used phones on hand. Pretty much all so called "refurbished" products are simply turned on and sent out.

You can get lucky sometimes and get a phone that someone just decided they didn't want and sent back working fine....... but that seems to be pretty rare as you've found out. I recommend buying new from now on if you can afford it........ I've had extremely good luck that way ;-)

Sorry about your problems..... pixels can be good phones if you get a good one to start with.

 

[dlalonde]

Refurbished phones are a joke no matter what company you get them from. Do some research you'll see. I always buy new and look for good sales on last year's flagships. You can get some killer deals from very reputable companies if you look around. B&H photo and video is one.

The whole refurbished thing is a joke. All most companies do is pick the nicest looking returns, make sure they turn on, and ship them out. Why do you think they're returns? Because most of them had some issue so the customer sent them back.

These companies don't want to spend the time or resources taking apart sealed phones to repair/replace anything...... it's more cost effective to just keep sending out the stock of used phones on hand. Pretty much all so called "refurbished" products are simply turned on and sent out.

You can get lucky sometimes and get a phone that someone just decided they didn't want and sent back working fine....... but that seems to be pretty rare as you've found out. I recommend buying new from now on if you can afford it........ I've had extremely good luck that way ;-)

Sorry about your problems..... pixels can be good phones if you get a good one to start with.

Oh I'm definitely buying new from now on. the reason why I'm done with Pixel phones though is that if that's the way they deal with warranties then might as well not have one which is the point of buying a new phone. So screw them.

What boggles my mind is that I even offered to get it repaired (at their expense of course) which would save them money and both of us time. You can't do that.

I've sent them a formal notice as consumer protection laws where I live garantee that I get the same rights as the original owner. I don't expect much though. They don't give a crap.

 

[ToddClark]

about the only thing i will add here, is that as upset as you are about their return policies, seems this entire thing would have been avoided had you had the original order number, correct? Youd have never had to deal with a refurb, so it sounds to me like theyre no different than any other phone manf. and youd have probably ran into this same situation no matter what manf of phone you were dealing with.

 

[J Dubbs]

about the only thing i will add here, is that as upset as you are about their return policies, seems this entire thing would have been avoided had you had the original order number, correct? Youd have never had to deal with a refurb, so it sounds to me like theyre no different than any other phone manf. and youd have probably ran into this same situation no matter what manf of phone you were dealing with.

Pretty much every electronics manufacturer I've dealt with has the same policy, and from what I've read on Google's pixel site and other places they're no different, they all reserve the right to send you a refurbished replacement if your device dies the day you get it, or the last day of the warranty. Fitbit tried to pull that crap with me, so I got my credit card company involved and got a new replacement instead of the used junk they were sending out to everyone else. But it was a major hassle and almost not worth it, except I was able to get the original Fitbit working which they let me keep, and got a brand new one as well.

The days of companies replacing defective devices under warranty with new ones are gone unfortunately, now once you have a device fail you can expect to go through the refurbished ring of hell. It's really sad how times are changing for the worse in many areas.

And don't even get me started on $1000+ dollar sealed battery disposable PHONES for goodness sakes....... they're PHONES!!! lol. When you have to lease a phone because it's so expensive you can't afford it otherwise, something's wrong with that picture..... and the picture is one of you bent over with your carrier/phone manufacturer behind you with a huge grin on their face :O =-O ;-)

 

[Mike Dee]

Pretty much every electronics manufacturer I've dealt with has the same policy, and from what I've read on Google's pixel site and other places they're no different, they all reserve the right to send you a refurbished replacement if your device dies the day you get it, or the last day of the warranty. Fitbit tried to pull that crap with me, so I got my credit card company involved and got a new replacement instead of the used junk they were sending out to everyone else. But it was a major hassle and almost not worth it, except I was able to get the original Fitbit working which they let me keep, and got a brand new one as well.

The days of companies replacing defective devices under warranty with new ones are gone unfortunately, now once you have a device fail you can expect to go through the refurbished ring of hell. It's really sad how times are changing for the worse in many areas.

And don't even get me started on $1000+ dollar sealed battery disposable PHONES for goodness sakes....... they're PHONES!!! lol. When you have to lease a phone because it's so expensive you can't afford it otherwise, something's wrong with that picture..... and the picture is one of you bent over with your carrier/phone manufacturer behind you with a huge grin on their face :O =-O ;-)

Actually Google is one of the few that replaces with new after the return period has past. I don't know how far out they go but I've heard of exchanges for phones that are several months old.

 

[dlalonde]

Actually Google is one of the few that replaces with new after the return period has past. I don't know how far out they go but I've heard of exchanges for phones that are several months old.

They do indeed apparently. One of the several support people I spoke to in the last two months said that usually after two refurbished that fail they send a new one. Don't mark my words though given how many different stories I've had in the past two months.

That being said I would actually not mind refurbished at all. It's just that after 4 refurbished it's clear to me they don't do that much quality control even if they say they do. If they offered to get it repaired at their expense at their authorized repair center I would even do that with pleasure! I don't want to score a new device, just a functionning one that lasts as long as anyone paying that price would expect.

To me though, that whole original purchase ID thing is BS and merely just a way to not send me a new device. No one at Google will make me believe they don't have that info. They probably know my car's serial number even if I never entered it anywhere ha ha ha!

 

[Mike Dee]

They do indeed apparently. One of the several support people I spoke to in the last two months said that usually after two refurbished that fail they send a new one. Don't mark my words though given how many different stories I've had in the past two months.

That being said I would actually not mind refurbished at all. It's just that after 4 refurbished it's clear to me they don't do that much quality control even if they say they do. If they offered to get it repaired at their expense at their authorized repair center I would even do that with pleasure! I don't want to score a new device, just a functionning one that lasts as long as anyone paying that price would expect.

To me though, that whole original purchase ID thing is BS and merely just a way to not send me a new device. No one at Google will make me believe they don't have that info. They probably know my car's serial number even if I never entered it anywhere ha ha ha!

I received a brand new replacement after a couple of months. It may have helped that I bought it from them directly.

 

[dlalonde]

I received a brand new replacement after a couple of months. It may have helped that I bought it from them directly.

Yeah that's what I mean. Except I didn't buy it directly from them but the person I bought it from did. Which is why I call BS.